What If? The Spectacular SpiderMan
by SpideyFan914
Summary: On forums, we've been writing these What If?s, such as What If Peter Drank the Gene-Cleanser? and What If Aunt May Died From Her Heart Attack? Here's some of our entries. To be updated frequently. Rated T just to be safe. Season 2 spoilers.
1. What If Gwen Chose Peter Over Harry?

_A few words before we begin:_

_On the forums, we've started this sort of writing contest where one person, the host, chooses a What If? from the series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and a bunch of others write stories based on it. The winner hosts the next round._

_These are all of the winning entries. Some are short. Some are long. Some are funny. Some are tragic._

_I'll be updating relatively quickly, as we usually go through another round every few days, and there's already a handful to get out._

_In any case, enjoy!_

---

**What If Gwen Stacy Chose Peter Over Harry?**

_Submitted by: beegk_

*At the Graveyard*

"Gwen, you're all I have, the only thing keeping me from the Green..." Harry said.

"Yeah, Me a--and Peter, together." She walks over to Peter.

"Both of us, we can help you."

"You--you're with Pete?"

"Yes, Harry," she says, "I was going to tell you."

"You're all I want."

"No, please don't make me feel bad."

Peter tried. "We can still be friends--"

"NO!! I don't have popularity, a father, OR friends!!"

"Har--"

"NO!"

He runs away. Gwen cries on Peter's chest.

**Later...**

Harry opens up a secret door in the room behind the knight.

"Only one thing left to do. YOU are all I have left."

He takes a strange yellowish Goblin suit off a hook.......


	2. WhatIf Kingpin Was Sitting In the Chair?

**What If Kingpin Was Sitting in the Chair When Tombstone Came Back to His Office in Gangland?**

_Submitted by: Yours Truly - SpideyFan914_

"I knew Hammerhead wasn't capable of pulling that off by himself. But I should've known it was you...."

"Of course. There's never been anyone else...." Suddenly, the chair spins around, revealing a very, _very _fat man. "How long has it been now? Twelve years?"

"Yes, twelve years. Twelve years since you planted me in the seat of power."

"I _didn't_ plantyou here. Not intentionally anyway. You were just a hit-man. The letter was intended for my son."

"It was delivered to me." Tombstone walks up to the desk, and opens up a drawer, pulling out an envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL. Inside was a wrinkly piece of loose-leaf paper.

_As you are probably aware by now, I have been quite unsatisfied with the crime boss in New York City. He has gotten stuck-up and over-confident with his age. He has long forgotten who allowed him to rise to power in the first place. Therefore, I am now going to ensure you with the keys to the city._

_Enclosed in this envelope is a glass vial containing a blue serum. Drink it. This will give you great strength and speed, nearly matching my own. Although yours won't be as natural as mine, this power should assist you in sparking and winning a gang war. In the end, you will be the victor and you will be the new Big Man._

_-King_

"Of course, the unexpected angle was Frederick Foswell. How'd you set that one up again?"

"I gave the evidence to a paperboy, who slipped in into Foswell's cubicle when he wasn't looking. Cost me a nickel. Won you the war."

"It certainly explained why you were so sure I'd win."

"I thought I was doing this for my son."

"Yes, how did that mix-up occur anyway? You never told me."

"You were employed for him at the time. You tell me."

Tombstone made a face. _He knows. Damn!_

"So is why you've betrayed me?"

"Yes, it was called to my attention just recently. You know, Lincoln -"

"Tombstone."

"You know, Lincoln, I don't like it when things happen without my knowing."

"Well then, you won't like this. Your son was a wimp and a coward. He didn't have the guts to be a crime lord. Sorry you didn't know."

At this, the fat man jumped out of the desk, locked his large hands around Tombstone's throat, and in the next moment, he sat on top of the albino, squeezing.

"You don't talk that way to me, Lincoln. I am Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of All Crime. I run every country on this planet, and the people do not even know it. You? You're just hired help."

Tombstone lunged a punch into the man's belly, sending him flying towards the window. However, the man managed to regain his balance just before crashing through.

"New York City is too important for me to lose. The commercial capital of the world, you understand? I was willing to allow you to keep it out of mercy, until I learned of your immense treachery. Still, though, I was _going _to let you live. But you when you talk about my son that way -"

"What way? _Truthfully?_"

The Kingpin charged at Tombstone again, picking him up and lunging him out the window before he could even react.

Tombstone crashed hard on the pavement below. It was rush hour.

"He attacked me," Fisk bellowed out for the people below to hear, "and I defended myself."

Someone below cried out, "I bet you're taking his place!" A few others agreed.

Later that night, those several people would die in car crashes, as would the two reporters on the scene.

Fisk sat down at his desk. _This city is yours, now. Be patient. It's only a matter of time before they fear you enough to submit...._


	3. What If Peter Drank the Gene Cleanser?

_Just so y'all know, I've been trying to move this thing to The Spectacular Spider-Man section under "Cartoons" (which I was only just informed exists), but for some reason, it's not letting me.... So, it _might _wind up there sometime, or it might not. Sorry for the complications._

---

**What If Peter Parker Drank the Gene-Cleanser?**

_Submitted by: 7sportsfan23_

Peter swings through the window..

_ I never asked for these powers....it was all just a random bug bite....easiest choice I ever made..._

He gulps the gene-cleanser.

Peter stands there...suddenly he drops the vile and blacks out.....

Peter wakes up the next morning (making it the weekend) and gets up and heads out to the Bugle..

Peter walks down the streets of New York, not carrying his web shooters anymore...when he spots a mugging in the alley, he felt the urge to help, he stood there and watched while the guy was getting beatin like crazy, he felt sort of a guilt inside of him, yet he never knew the guy...

the robber eventually runs off, knowing there was nothing he could do, he walked off..

_Is this really what I am supposed to do....should I have really drunk the cleanser....  
_  
He walks by a window seeing his reflection, but he didn't see himself.....he saw his face...but it wasn't him...he had a saddened look in his eyes....

He finally walked in the Bugle..

JJ asked for pictures, but Peter said he didn't have any, and probably won't ever again, JJ then fires him after that...

Peter leaves feeling worse then before, he couldn't stop thinking about the decision he had made.

He arrived home later that night, said HI to his aunt and went up to his room, finding the picture of Uncle Ben on his dresser....tears filled his eyes as he looked at his Uncle...and remembered hte words, "With Great power comes great responsibility..."...he started crying...He laid on his bed, thinking of how he used to swinging along the buildings, saving peoples lives....now he sees himself, lying on his bed, powerless.

_What have I done....._


	4. What If the Museum Alarm Didn't Go Off?

**What If the Museum Alarm Didn't Ring After Spider-Man Saw Eddie in the Park?**

_Submitted by: SpideyFan914_

"The last thing I need is the return of the Green Goblin!" Spider-Man says. "Only thing more horrifying is double-date at Flash Thompson's! Or.... _Eddie Brock?!?!_"

He web-zips down to the boardwalk right in front of Eddie.

"Oh, man! It - it _is _you! I-I've been looking all over for you!"

"Um, wait –" Eddie stammers. "You're, um.... not supposed to have confirmed anything...."

"Huh?"

"Um, yeah.... Can you just, like, forget about these past few seconds and, um, go back to being paranoid....?"

"Why would I....? You - you were planning something, weren't you!"

"Oh, _****!_"

"You were trying to make me paranoid enough to lead you back to the symbiote, weren't you? That's - that's - _diabolical!!!!_"

"So, um, yeah.... Can you _please _just.... _Damn!_"

"Now you are _sick, _bro! You are _sick!_"

"Well I didn't know you would web-zip down here!"

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, I don't know - m-maybe the.... the museum alarm would've.... gone off or.... something...."

".... You were depending upon forces beyond your control to reunite you with the symbiote to bring back a homocidal monster....?"

"Hey, you never know what Weisman'll come up with next."

"Who's -? Bro, you wanna know what - you're crazy! C-R-A-Z-Y - _crazy!_ And I've met some pretty crazy people!"

"C'mon! All I want is the one I love!"

"Uh-huh.... Like I said - _crazy!_ You wanna know what - now I'm not gonna do it! Now I'll never show you where the symbiote is and you won't get it! So _ha!_" He web-swings away, leaving Eddie to fall on knees in defeat....

---

**Later, at ESU Labs....**

The Connors, Warren, Peter, Gwen, and Debra are all working when suddenly, without any warning, the door opens, and someone falls in headfirst. He's bleeding.

"Oh my -" Gwen runs up to check on him, and turns him over. "Oh man - it's Eddie!"

"Eddie?" Dr. Connors exclaims. "Where've you been? What - what happened to you?"

Eddie gasps for breath. "Sp- Spider-Man.... It was.... Spider-Man...."

"I'm calling an ambulance."

As Eddie is driven away, he smiles._ Parker.... If Venom can't make your life a living hell, then Eddie Brock will...._


	5. What If the Marko Experiment Succeeded?

**What If Big Man Succeeded in the Flint Marko Experiment?**

_Submitted by: 7sportsfan23_

Hammerhead sends Flint into the lab where Octavius and Norman are waiting.

"Hello, Marko," Octavius says.

"I guess we should start now," Marko replies.  
Octavius turns to Norman. "Are you sure we're ready, I mean..."

"No, Doctor, I am positive."  
Flint walks into the chamber.

"So, Doc, what's with the arms?"

"They help me manipulate difficult objects.. and maintain a safe distance.."

"You need a safe distance! what about me?"

"Relax, Marko," Hammerhead assures him, "you'll be impervious, right Doc?"

"Yes, we will cover him in a silicon armor, and he will be unstoppable."

Octavius starts the procedure, and a silicon armor surrounds Marko forming him into a superpowered being...  
Octavius uses his arms to remove all the equipment.

"Welcome to the big time, Silicon," Hammerhead says.

"Silicon?" Marko thinks about it. "I like it, now maybe this power will help me...help defeat a certain bug."  
Silicon busts through the wall and jumps away.

Norman turns to Hammerhead. "So is this a positive?"

"The Big Man will be pleased." An evil grin spreads across Hammerhead's face.


	6. What If Black Cat Stole the Symbiote?

**What If Black Cat Succeeded in Stealing the Symbiote?**

_Submitted by: SpideyFan914_

I sneak undetected, as I always do. Just like my father, I'm a master of stealth, and whatever this thing is, it's going to make him proud.

Suddenly, something sticky snags my hand. "Hey! First time I rescued the icky alien from the beautiful damsel!"

"Well, if it isn't Spider-Man!"

He's kind of cute, the way he fights. Extremely acrobatic. I never thought he'd be quite like that. I like it. But it's not the issue at hand - the ooze is. I bat him around a bit, waiting for a distraction, but he doesn't let up. The alarm is ringing now and someone's coming.

Dr. Connors has arrived - a distraction!

"Dr. Connors!" he cries, and turns for one second - all I need. The alien seems to have escaped it's cage, and the tube in which she was to trap it is shattered. But it's a lab - there are vials and beakers everywhere. I pick one up and scoop up the ooze, fleeing through the window before Spider-Man can turn back....

---

"Did you get it?"

"Sure did, Moneybags! The ooze is yours!" I hand the beaker with the alien over to him. "Trust me - it wasn't easy keeping that thing in the beaker on the way here. It kept trying to stick to me...."

"Interesting...." He puts the beaker on his desk upside-down. "What happened to the tube I gave you?"

"It broke." He raises an eyebrow, waiting for more. "Spider-Man got in the way."

"Spider-Man.... He's been trouble for me before.... He saw you steal the alien, you say....?"

It's hot in his office. "You said there'd be money."

"Of course, Kitty-Cat...." He takes out a suitcase, and shows me the contents - piles upon piles of cash. It makes me smile. I check it, and it is indeed real.

I wonder where I'll keep my medals.

---

A few days have passed now. I'm kind of just chillin' for the moment. Nothing interesting's going on. My employers usually contact me, so I'll just wait, I guess.

In the meantime, it's fun to just wander around - maybe run into a certain spider.

And sure enough, there he is....

"Hey Spider!" he turns and sees me.

"Black Cat! You! It was you! You stole the ooze!"

"Oh, you're not still dwelling on that, are you? Maybe I can take it off your mind...."

"You have to tell me what you did with it, Cat!"

"Well, if I did that, it would hurt my reputation as a cat burglar...." I grapple a hold on the ceiling and hang upside-down.

"If you don't, it's gonna hurt my reputation as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" He does the same.

I shrug. "Well then, I guess it's my word against yours."

I wonder if I get him to follow me.... I grapple onto another building and swing across the block. He follows!

"Cat, where do you think you're going!"

"Just thinking about whether or not you would go after me if you could...."

"Uh...."

Suddenly, the building shakes. I lose my grip and start to fall. As I reach for my grappling hook, those webs of his grab onto me. "See? You do care."

"I don't want to see squashed!"

"**i dO!!**"

I look down. Something's in the streets - a black monster, with a squarish head, sharp teeth, and slit eyes. Random slithers of blue move across it's body - like moving skin. It looks like a creature from the grave....

It bangs into the building again, and this time, Spider-Man dives past me, punching the monster in the jaw. It's hard to hear from up here, but he grabs his fist in pain - he's in trouble!

I slash the webbing and land on the ground. "Whose this creature from the grave? One of yours?"

"I was thinking he might be an ex of _yours_."

"Please - you're my first, Spider!"

The creature charges at me now. Thinking fast, I grab ahold of him and, following through, flip the heavy monster over my head and into the building. He crashes, and the building begins to fall....

"Split!" Spider shouts, and we run in opposite directions, allowing the building to fall between us. Luckily, the street was quite empty at the time. The building was not.

"Oh my God...." Spider gasps. "What is thing....?"

Suddenly, a fist arises through the rubble, and the monster gets up. "_It lives!!!!!!_"

"This isn't funny, Cat! There were people in that building, and.... Oh, my God...." He seems.... upset.... I wonder why. After all, _he's _still alive....

"**iT woULd seEm AS tHouGh tHiS ThiNg iNCreASEs mY naTUrAl pRoWesS.... HoW fItTiNg....**"

The monster dashes over to the Spider, and in a few punches, he's down. I cry out, but to no avail. But the monster doesn't finish the job - it simply comes to me.

"**YoU arE The rEaSOn i'Ve cOMe, KitTY-cAt....**"

My eyes widen. The monster is a he. Or at least, it once was.... I say it's former name.

"**Not aNYmORe.... nOW, i'M gRAvEYarD....**"

Of course.... The next level up....

The punch comes sooner than I can prepare. As do all the rest....


	7. What If Rhino Hadn't Crushed the Specs?

**What If Rhino Had Not Destroyed the Fake Specs?**

_Submitted by: theportal_

Rhino puts his foot down, confident that he's about to destroy the specs... only for Hammerhead to shove the specs out of the way at the last possible moment. Rhino's foot comes down hard on Hammerhead's head; Spidey cringes as the concrete shatters and the unconscious Hammerhead, still alive because of his steel plated head, tumbles down through the large crack in the ground. While Rhino struggles to regain his footing, Silver Sable grabs the specs.

"Hamster's too kind. I always did go for the kind of boy who'd do the dirty work for me."

"OK, that was wrong on _so_ many levels!" Spider-Man says. He shoots several web lines at Silver Sable, intent on snatching the specs back, but Silver Sable cuts the web strands with a shuriken and edges towards the corner of the car park. Then she jumps, diving down and latching on to the helicopter.

"I don't got a plan for this scenario," Rhino says.

Spider-Man nods. "Leave that to me." He attaches a web line to the helicopter, which is attempting a get-away. "Hey, Sable! Let's see how good a shot you are."

Silver Sable fires a single bullet at Spidey's web line and cuts it, grimacing at him.

"OK, _that_ wasn't supposed to happen."

Spidey uses his webbing to land on a nearby rooftop while the chopper escapes into the night. He pauses, then decides to head back to the car park and put a stop to the more immediate danger - Rhino - especially since the police are just arriving and are about to bite off more than they can chew in taking on Rhino.

________________

Silvermane smiles. "And what's this you've got for me, Sable?"

Silver Sable's startled, but happy. "Daddy! You're out early. I thought you weren't meant to get out of prison for another 9 days...?"

"Good behaviour, Sable. It goes a long way in prison. So..." He points to the case containing the specs.

"Just a little something that I thought you'd kill to have in your possession." She hands him the briefcase.

Silvermane opens the case and withdraws the chip. He studies it, smiling all the while.

"You did well, Sable. Give me a hug." They embrace, Sable looking thrilled because it's been 12 years since she's seen her father out of prison. "You think this is everything it says it is?"

"I should hope so. OsCorp has a lot to answer for if it isn't."

"We'll just run it by one of our technicians, just in case..."

________________

Donald Menken approaches, sounding meek. "Mr. Osborn...?"

"Yes...?" Norman Osborn says, not looking up from his laptop.

"The specs were..." He clears his throat, "apparently stolen by Sable Manfredi."

Norman cooly closes his laptop down.

"That won't do," Norman says, sounding hostile. "Make _sure_ that they're destroyed."

"It's out of our hands, sir."

Norman glares at him. He starts to say something, but his voice is drowned out by the sound of window behind him shattering. Both of them look back and see Sable Manfredi standing in front of the pile of shattered glass.

Calmly, she says, "Evening, sir. And auctioneer."

Donald Menken shuffles about uncomfortably, wanting to run for it, but a sharp gaze from Norman Osborn holds him in place. Sable wanders over to Norman.

"What is it that you want?"

"The specs. The _real_ specs." She holds her staple gun up to his throat. "My father won't stand for anything less."

Norman Osborn's face is blank. "Leave us, Menken."

Donald Menken runs off.

Silver Sable looks awkward following the ensuing silence. "So?"

Norman tackles her and she falls to the ground. She fires her gun but misses, grunting angrily. Norman pins her to the floor with a foot and puts his hand behind his back. When his hand returns, it's holding a pumpkin bomb.

"This one won't explode for about 30 seconds. So leave; now. You can't even _hope_ to outclass me."

Silver Sable looks wary of him. She struggles, then looks him in the eye and does a backflip back towards the broken window.

"My father has a war to win, but after that, he's giving you his undivided attention, you shark."

She leaps through the broken window and hitches a ride on her helicopter. Norman walks over to the broken window and smiles through at her...


	8. WhatIf Peter Didn't Remove the Symbiote?

**What If Flash's Pep Talk Hadn't Convinced Peter in "Intervention"?**

_Submitted by: SpideyFan914_

Peter's cell phone rings. "Gwen. Aw, crud. What does she want with us now?" He s_huts off his phone._ "Forget it. She and Brock can attend a 'Pete's such a disappointment' dance together."

"You sellin' tickets to that or can anyone who thinks you're a jerk attend?"

Peter turns to see Flash. "Don't push me, Eugene. I'm not in the mood."

"Yeah, yeah. Your aunt's sick. Poor puny Parker. Even Sally feels bad for ya, but not me. If you're hanging up on the sheek geek, that proves you're still a stuck-up egghead." Flash sighs. "A guy who can't even see that his friends are trying to help...."

Peter shoves him against the wall. "We said, don't push us."

"Excuse me, this is a hospital! If you're going to rough it up, do so outside!" Peter turns to see the nurse giving him an annoyed look. He drops Flash and walks out....

---

The rest of the month passed by. He fought crime on and off, frequently looking the other way as Tombstone requested. They had begun to get along with each other quite well, in fact....

---

It was early December now, and Peter received a call from L. Thompson Lincoln.

"Hello?"

"The bridge. Now. Let it out. Enjoy yourself." Lincoln hung up. Peter shrugged.

_Some sort of competitor, we suppose. Well, whatever pays the bills. Sure, Aunt May's back and all, but those bills are wreaking havoc...._

---

Elsewhere, in the office of the Daily Globe, Eddie Brock stumbled in.

"Hey, whose the boss around here?" he asked, and they pointed him towards the office of their editor-in-chief, a Mrs. Nora Winters.

_I can't believe I've been reduced to this.... No job, no money to pay for college.... I'd have to have ditched college if I didn't see that ad.... I just can't believe I'm doing it...._

"Yes? What is it?" Ms. Winters asked when she saw Eddie.

"I'm here to.... to apply for the photographer job...."

---

"Dormir!" The people below Mysterio collapsed onto their hands and knees, suddenly weary. "This technology of yours must be vanquished!"

Suddenly, Spider arrived, all in black. "Hey, you with the, um, the fishbowl.... Who might you be?"

"I am _Mysterio_, Master of the Arcane Arts!"

"Oh, so you're another fraudulent bozo, then?"

"How dare you!" Mysterio covers himself with his cloak and bat-like creatures suddenly appear out of nowhere. Spider webs onto one, swings it into the others, over his head, and slams it into Mysterio's stomach. He falls out of his elevated position then and lands hard on the pavement. Spider leaps into the air and comes down on top of him, preparing a punch. Mysterio manages to roll out of the way and get to his feet just in time to see Spider's punch slam through the bridge.

Not losing his cool, he shouts out a syllable, "Dor-" but it's too late - Spider doesn't miss again, shattering the fishbowl and sending Mysterio falling to the ground.

"Master of the Arcane Arts my -"

---

In a base somewhere off the pier, Phineas Mason sits in front of a large screen, with a shadowy figure and a deep but staticky voice.

"Mysterio has failed," he exclaims.

"I see.... How much did he manage to steal, then?"

"He got some of the stuff, but we're still missing a few goods from Oscorp...."

"Hm.... What we need is a distraction...."

---

"Class dismissed."

The lecture emptied out rapidly.

"Wait, Eddie," Dr. Connors hold out his hand and stops Eddie from proceeding.

"What is it, Dr. Connors?"

"You've seemed so distant these past few weeks.... I've been worried about you. You're not.... mad at me, are you?"

Eddie sighs. He knew this was coming. "You did what you had to do. You didn't _want _to do it.... Parker's the one who really caused the problem...."

---

Tombstone hears a knock on his window. He turns around and sees the Spider sticking there.

"I told you: this is not the best place to make our dealings."

Spider punches and shatters the window, then crawls in. Tombstone grinds his teeth.

"I want my pay," Spider says.

"I don't think you understand. You work for me. And, as such, I decide when you'll be paid and how much. The expenses for that window will be reduced from your pay. Now good-b-"

Spider spins Tombstone around and grabs him by the shirt. "How about I just throw you out of it? How much would be reduced my pay then?"

Tombstone looks at his coldly. "I suggest you remove your hand from my shirt. Now."

Grunting, Spider tosses him to the floor. Tombstone crashes into the pool table and it breaks in two, sending several of the balls to fall on his head. He gets up, brushes off the dust, and neatens his tuxedo.

"One more burst like that and you're out."

Spider wasn't happy. But he left it, swinging out the open window. The next person he saw wouldn't be very happy.

Suddenly, Spider was hit by a dart. It didn't hurt much - the alien kept catching and reducing impacts. It was, however, quite annoying how it also messed with his spider-sense. He missed the knowledge of knowing when there was danger. He missed knowing when someone couldn't be trusted. But it wasn't that big of a deal: he simply wouldn't trust anyone.

Spider pulled out the dart and turned. A man wearing lion skin stood there, shooting more darts. Spider jumped over them and drop-kicked him.

"You caught me at a bad time," Spider warned. "Now, who are you?"

"I am Sergei Kravinoff. Born to Mother Russia, but raised by Mother Africa!"

He took out a few knives and charged at Spider, who dodged the attacks and uppercut him in the nuts, sending Kravinoff hurling into the streets. Unfortunately, the guy had a grappling hook. Spider slip down it.

Kravinoff tossed some sort of rope at Spider, and it wrapped around him. So Spider just flexed and snapped them. Now both falling, they fought with fists. Kravinoff was bleeding. Spider was still going.

They slammed onto the ground. Spider's fall was cushioned by Kravinoff. He swung away....

Nearby, Eddie Brock shook as he snapped his camera.

---

JJJ had gone ballistic. "Perfect! Perfect! I can see the headlines now: 'Spider-Man: Murderer'! I love it!"

"But you see, Jonah, the thing is, Kravinoff attacked Spider-Man. It could have been self-defe-"

"Wait, wait!" JJJ blared, interrupting Robbie mid-word. "I've got a better headline! 'A Killer Amongst Us'!"

"You're acting like he's already been convicted! Fact is, there's not even a threat of a trial! The police only want him for questioning!"

"No, no, no! I have it this time! 'The Blood Spilt by Spider-Man'!"

---

"Questioning?"

"Yes, Eddie, that's all the police want. I'm afraid this photo seems too biased. It leans in favor of one side, and it's really too risky to print anything but the facts...."

"But, Ms. Winters, what's more factual than picture-proof! This wasn't self-defense, it was cold-blooded murder!"

"Listen, Eddie, I'm sorry. You're new at this, but you'll learn in time...."

"What's there to learn? It's not like this is first time! He stole the alien from Dr. Connors' lab, remember?"

"There's still no proof of that. And besides, theft is hardly the equivolent of murder."

"But -"

"Better luck next time, Eddie."

---

Mason looks down at his copy of the Daily Bugle.

"The Spider Feasts," he reads aloud, "an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson." He looks up at his screen.

"This is.... most disturbing...." the voice booms. "I noticed something different about Spider-Man the last time I met him, but I never suspected anything like this." He chuckles. "The hero's going rogue. How intriguing.... I wonder, does it have anything to do with that suit?"

"Maybe," Mason suggests, "Spider-Man is dead. Perhaps this is someone new entirely."

There is a moment's silence.

"Put all other plans on hold, Tinkerer. This demands immediate attention - up close and personal...."

"Then -?"

"Yes. It's time."

---

"I don't know, Eddie. I mean, Spider-Man? A murderer? Isn't that a bit wild?"

"I know it sounds crazy, Gwen, but I was there. I saw it. Kravinoff was dead before he hit the ground."

"I think you're getting a bit obsessive about this...."

"Why doesn't anyone believe me? Am I wrong to believe that there should be a price to pay for murder? Okay, maybe I overreacted to the alien thing, but _this _is for sure!"

"Eddie, it's getting to your head! What you saw was disastrous and though I'm no psych major, I understand what it could do to you...."

"So what, you're worried about me too?"

"Eddie, I - let's change the subject. I heard you got a new job. Daily Globe, right? How's that going?"

"Not well at all. It's not my thing to be a stuck-up, snobby, selfish tabloid journalist...."

"Tabloid? Since when is the Daily Globe a -"

"I'm not Peter Parker, all right!"

There's a moment's silence.

"Have you seen Peter, Eddie?" Gwen asks suddenly.

"Why would I even care about that guy?" He notices a tear run down Gwen's cheek. "What - what's wrong?"

"Peter, he...." Gwen sniffles. "He's been missing for three days...."

---

_We get it now. All that time of trying to figure what was "wrong" with our life. We kept thinking that if we stopped being the Spider, all our problems would be miraculously solved. But what kind of a life did we lead before it all? A damn hell! The Spider's not the problem. Peter Parker is. So the answer is simple: Peter Parker no more...._

The Spider swings down to Peter Parker's house. _Loose ends must be severed._

For the last time, Peter Parker steps into his room and picks up his phone off his bedroom floor. He dials for Gwen.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Gwen, it's Peter."

"Peter! What's happened to you?"

"I'm no more."

"Wh- what?"

"Somebody else is with you."

"Eddie's here. Why?"

"Good. We want a last word with him, too."

"We?"

"Put him on."

Gwen passes the phone to Eddie. "It's Peter. I.... think...."

"Peter, you son of a -"

"Rot in hell, Brock. We don't give a damn what you have to say about anything. Taking a few pictures never hurt anyone, but you being an ******* did. It didn't hurt us, though. You should've realized a long time ago that you had no other friends. Now, you have none. You think Gwen cares? She'll turn on you just like everyone else when she realizes what an idiot you truly are. Now put her back on."

Eddie's about to retort, but Gwen grabs the phone out of his hand, realizing what he's about to say.

"Peter, where are you?"

"For now, at my house. But soon, I'll no longer exist. You'll never see us again. We just wanted you to know that we have no regrets. So good-bye."

He hangs up and then, Peter Parker is no more.

There is only the Spider....

---

He was on the TV that night. Doc Ock, that is. He was in Central Park, apparently, and had challenged the Spider to a on-one-on duel to the death. The Spider accepted.

When the Spider arrived, it skipped conversation. Its pride was on the line. Reporters were everywhere. No one was going to miss it. No one.

Eddie close to the center of the action, ready to watch as the fight unfolded.

The Spider got in the first move, kicking Ock in the lake of Central Park. He shot out his tentacles, using three to regain his balance and one to assault the Spider, who leaped to the side and shot a web-bullet of some kind at Ock, heading his directly in the stomach.

Doc Ock stumbled backwards, coughing up blood. But he wasn't out. Not yet. He leapt into the air and came down on top of the Spider, pinning it with one tentacle. The Spider tore it off. It lunged upwards and launched an uppercut, knocking off Doc Ock's sunglasses and sending him flying backwards.

But Doctor Octopus had a plan. As he stumbled, he knew that he would have a moment before the Spider could attack again, and used it to tear off a piece of the Spider's costume. Finally, Ock hit the ground, watching as the Spider's suit repaired the missing piece, which itself was struggling to return to its host.

"Interesting," he said, "your costume seems.... alive.... Like some sort of.... alien...."

Eddie heard him loud and clear. He dropped his camera. The Spider hadn't sold the alien after stealing it. They had bonded....

Suddenly, the separated piece of alien slid down Ock's tentacle. "Now, show me the power!" What emerged was a fiend of horror and revolt. A crimson beast with yellow teeth, and four sharpened tentacles growing out of its spine. Even the fourth tentacle had been repaired. Monster Ock, they would call it....

And Monster Ock seemed to gain the advantage over the Spider, striking out relentlessly and at four times the speed. But the Spider seemed unalarmed. Unworried. Cool and calm.... It simply evaded Monster Ock's strikes.

It tore out trees and tossed them at the Spider. It lashed and lunged and slashed at the Spider. And the Spider did not fight back.

They would soon know why.

The Spider held out its hand then, as Monster Ock fell over, seemingly exhausted. The alien slithered away and reattached with the Spider. Beneath the surface, Doctor Otto Octavius had been transformed into a corpse.

Eddie Brock ran over. "What the hell did you do to him??? You freak!!!!!"

The Spider looked down. "Rot in hell, Brock. We don't give a damn what you have to say about anything."

His eyes widened with realization. And he snarled. "Peter Parker."

The Spider swung away....

---

"Quite a display that was in Central Park," Tombstone said as the Spider creeped into his office. "The cops will be looking for you now. You must be extra careful not to associate yourself with me."

"Won't be necessary," the Spider hissed. "We won't be associated with you any longer. Don't need you anymore...."

Tombstone barely had time to turn around before he found himself plunging to the street below...."

---

Months passed. Criminals cringed in corners, fearing the Spider. Many reformed. The Spider didn't care.

The police had faded away. They weren't needed anymore. Neither was government, really, but it stood as a figurehead. Everyone knew that the Spider's word was law.

Few challenged it. Those few met together. They were led by the one who hated him the most. Eddie Brock. He was their strategy. Their only strategy.

Sacrifices had been made to learn of the Spider's weakness. They knew it now.

So Brock had his own suit. And he would do whatever it took to defeat the Spider once and for all....

---

The Spider watched over the city, as they looked up at it. It was something to be feared, they knew that. But to oppose it - wouldn't that mean death?

They recalled the fates of those such as George Stacy and others, and so they cringed in fear.

Eddie Brock did not. He didn't even bother with a sneak attack. He flew up to the Spider's perch and simply said, "Die, freak," and attacked.

The Spider dodged his first strike and grabbed ahold of Brock. They spiraled down to the lower skyscrapers before Brock broke free and struck back. The Spider zipped out of the way, skidded along the side of the Empire State Building, spun around it, and lunged after Brock.

Brock didn't run though. He wanted to end it quickly. So he fought back during the Spider's mid-strike.

The blast was incredible. The Spider was halted in his tracks, and fell onto the rooftop. Eddie walked up and resumed the blast.

"Your one weakness," he smirked. "Sonics."

The Spider winced and screamed and hollered in pain, but it was too much. And then, the alien left him. The shell of Peter Parker was left on the rooftop.

"And now, Bro, it's time to die."

"_No!_" It cried out. "The power! I need my love! Come back to me!" It shouted over the edge of the rooftop, down towards the squirming alien.

Jean DeWolffe caught the alien at the bottom, sealing it in an airtight container.

"That's mine!" The shell yelled down. "I need it!"

"Bro," Eddie said, "you're a very sorry case. But then again, you've lived a life with no regrets. I have not."

And so, he lifted the shell and tossed it down the building....


End file.
